Latest news with #AustralianEnergyProducersconference
The Age
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Gas exporters on notice to lock in more supplies for Australians
Oil and gas executives have been put on notice that the re-elected Albanese government will make them do more to avert local energy shortfalls, as Resources Minister Madeleine King warns Australians are 'tired of seeing our vast gas resources exported overseas' while paying high prices at home. While some of the nation's top gas producers make billions of dollars shipping liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas from Queensland, authorities warn consumers in the south-east, including Victoria and NSW, are at risk of gas shortages in as little as three years unless more supplies are urgently made available. 'Australians recognise this to be unfair,' King told industry leaders gathered at the Australian Energy Producers conference in Brisbane. 'The Australian gas industry should pay careful attention to public concern of rising gas prices and supply gaps.' However, Kevin Gallagher, the head of Adelaide-based gas giant Santos, has pushed back against the threat of another wave of heavy-handed regulatory scrutiny, warning that ad-hoc government interventions to fix supply and prices have all 'backfired' so far. 'They've had the opposite impact that was intended,' he said. Loading The threat of domestic gas shortfalls comes as the 50-year-old Gippsland Basin gas fields in Bass Strait, which have traditionally provided the bulk of eastern Australia's domestic gas, have begun rapidly depleting, with scant new supply projects to replace them, sending prices higher. Some Australian LNG producers were 'doing the right thing' in ensuring the market had enough gas, added King, who pointed to agreements struck this year to divert an extra nine petajoules of gas to stave off a quarterly supply deficit. 'I thank them for that,' she said. 'But there remains a lot of work to do to ensure the domestic market remains well supplied.'
Sydney Morning Herald
27-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Gas exporters on notice to lock in more supplies for Australians
Oil and gas executives have been put on notice that the re-elected Albanese government will make them do more to avert local energy shortfalls, as Resources Minister Madeleine King warns Australians are 'tired of seeing our vast gas resources exported overseas' while paying high prices at home. While some of the nation's top gas producers make billions of dollars shipping liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas from Queensland, authorities warn consumers in the south-east, including Victoria and NSW, are at risk of gas shortages in as little as three years unless more supplies are urgently made available. 'Australians recognise this to be unfair,' King told industry leaders gathered at the Australian Energy Producers conference in Brisbane. 'The Australian gas industry should pay careful attention to public concern of rising gas prices and supply gaps.' However, Kevin Gallagher, the head of Adelaide-based gas giant Santos, has pushed back against the threat of another wave of heavy-handed regulatory scrutiny, warning that ad-hoc government interventions to fix supply and prices have all 'backfired' so far. 'They've had the opposite impact that was intended,' he said. Loading The threat of domestic gas shortfalls comes as the 50-year-old Gippsland Basin gas fields in Bass Strait, which have traditionally provided the bulk of eastern Australia's domestic gas, have begun rapidly depleting, with scant new supply projects to replace them, sending prices higher. Some Australian LNG producers were 'doing the right thing' in ensuring the market had enough gas, added King, who pointed to agreements struck this year to divert an extra nine petajoules of gas to stave off a quarterly supply deficit. 'I thank them for that,' she said. 'But there remains a lot of work to do to ensure the domestic market remains well supplied.'
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
More gas projects, less green tape call at energy event
Australia must cut the "red and green tape" around gas projects and allow more exploratory drilling to secure the nation's energy and exports, a conference has been told, despite an election result endorsing a move to renewable energy. Former ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey and Woodside chief executive Meg O'Neill were among presenters calling for policy changes at the Australian Energy Producers conference in Brisbane on Tuesday, which attracted more than 2000 attendees. Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki also used the event to declare the state's energy future would remain based on coal, and pledged to extend the life of the state's coal-fired power stations. The event comes as the gas industry awaits a verdict on whether Woodside will be allowed to extend its North West Shelf Project in Western Australia that is one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas sources. Approving the project and other developments including Santos' Narrabri Gas Project in NSW would be vital to addressing the nation's energy needs and preventing gas shortfalls, Ms O'Neill said. "With the new federal parliament elected, it is an opportunity to finally cut red and green tape to simplify and streamline Australia's approval system," she said. Mining exploration should also be allowed to "resume in earnest in Australia," she said, to allow companies to find opportunities for energy supply and export. Identifying additional gas and oil projects would be important for Australia's international standing, Mr Hockey told the event from Singapore, and should be allowed with limited government intervention. "We have a duty to grow the oil and gas industry in Australia, to grow it for global consumption," he said. "We need to get back to some basic principles that if you have less regulation, if you have less onerous taxes and less tax then you are more likely to grow your economy." The calls for more gas projects come weeks after the re-election of the federal Labor government, which has a target of 82 per cent renewable energy in the national grid by 2030. Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King told the conference the administration had heard the gas industry's desire for faster approvals but would adopt a careful approach. "The entire Australian government has heard your message that environment approvals that are complex and lengthy. Addressing this issue is a priority for this government," she said. "Commercial decisions and joint venture negotiations are also complex and lengthy and subject to change. Not all delays can be attributed to government regulation." While Ms King dismissed the coalition's gas reservation policy during the election campaign as a "thought bubble," she said the government would consider regulations to prevent gas shortages in the domestic market. But Queensland's LNP government would take a more aggressive approach to using fossil fuels, Mr Janetzki told attendees, and would extend the use of gas and coal. "(Coal-fired power stations) will remain open as long as it is economically sensible and systematically needed, not (closed on) an arbitrary date to fill a headline for a day," he said. On Monday, the Queensland government cancelled the Moonlight Range Wind Farm proposed near Rockhampton that would have installed 88 wind turbines and generated enough energy to power 260,000 homes per year.
Perth Now
27-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
More gas projects, less green tape call at energy event
Australia must cut the "red and green tape" around gas projects and allow more exploratory drilling to secure the nation's energy and exports, a conference has been told, despite an election result endorsing a move to renewable energy. Former ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey and Woodside chief executive Meg O'Neill were among presenters calling for policy changes at the Australian Energy Producers conference in Brisbane on Tuesday, which attracted more than 2000 attendees. Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki also used the event to declare the state's energy future would remain based on coal, and pledged to extend the life of the state's coal-fired power stations. The event comes as the gas industry awaits a verdict on whether Woodside will be allowed to extend its North West Shelf Project in Western Australia that is one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas sources. Approving the project and other developments including Santos' Narrabri Gas Project in NSW would be vital to addressing the nation's energy needs and preventing gas shortfalls, Ms O'Neill said. "With the new federal parliament elected, it is an opportunity to finally cut red and green tape to simplify and streamline Australia's approval system," she said. Mining exploration should also be allowed to "resume in earnest in Australia," she said, to allow companies to find opportunities for energy supply and export. Identifying additional gas and oil projects would be important for Australia's international standing, Mr Hockey told the event from Singapore, and should be allowed with limited government intervention. "We have a duty to grow the oil and gas industry in Australia, to grow it for global consumption," he said. "We need to get back to some basic principles that if you have less regulation, if you have less onerous taxes and less tax then you are more likely to grow your economy." The calls for more gas projects come weeks after the re-election of the federal Labor government, which has a target of 82 per cent renewable energy in the national grid by 2030. Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King told the conference the administration had heard the gas industry's desire for faster approvals but would adopt a careful approach. "The entire Australian government has heard your message that environment approvals that are complex and lengthy. Addressing this issue is a priority for this government," she said. "Commercial decisions and joint venture negotiations are also complex and lengthy and subject to change. Not all delays can be attributed to government regulation." While Ms King dismissed the coalition's gas reservation policy during the election campaign as a "thought bubble," she said the government would consider regulations to prevent gas shortages in the domestic market. But Queensland's LNP government would take a more aggressive approach to using fossil fuels, Mr Janetzki told attendees, and would extend the use of gas and coal. "(Coal-fired power stations) will remain open as long as it is economically sensible and systematically needed, not (closed on) an arbitrary date to fill a headline for a day," he said. On Monday, the Queensland government cancelled the Moonlight Range Wind Farm proposed near Rockhampton that would have installed 88 wind turbines and generated enough energy to power 260,000 homes per year.
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Australian Energy Producers conference: Philip Lowe warns productivity failure will hit living standards
Former Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe is worried Australia's prosperity is at risk from political failures to fix productivity and the global move away from free trade. He said supply shortages in crucial sectors including energy and housing had been caused by an economic environment that made it harder for businesses to invest. Productivity has cratered since the post-pandemic bubble in 2022 and the decline has also put the brakes on Australia's wage growth. 'More supply needs more investment,' Dr Lowe told the Australian Energy Producers conference in Brisbane on Tuesday. He said the country needed to invest in more capital — plants, machinery, equipment and education — as the population grew. The RBA had expected productivity to grow by 1.25 per cent annually but it was instead stuck at the same level as six years ago, Dr Lowe said. That meant wages, business profit, and budget revenue would all be about 8 per cent lower than they might have been. 'This is the source of the cost of living crisis,' Dr Lowe said. 'It's robbing you all of 8 per cent of your income.' He said politicians were too focused on the short term and needed to sharpen up Australia's industrial relations rules, tax system, planning laws, and improve education. 'We need political leadership that can look over the horizon . . . we need to take some hard decisions,' he said. 'Our living standards are about the best in the world. It's just stagnant. 'If we don't address the issues I was just talking about, our kids will still have a high living standard but we won't be world-beaters any more.' Treasurer Jim Chalmers recently said the Federal Government's top priority after a thumping victory in the election earlier this month would be boosting productivity. That would mean the country gets improved goods and services without needing employees to work harder or more hours. The Productivity Commission has been asked to assess a national strategy to fix the decline. Dr Lowe said the global move away from free trade, led by the US President Donald Trump, was also a major threat. Mr Trump unleashed the biggest tax hikes on America's economy in decades on April 2, although he has since been forced to walk back the worst pain, at least for now. The chaos had sparked warnings that the US economy could be driven into recession. 'It's extraordinarily concerning,' Dr Lowe said. 'Australia has built its wealth on being able to sell stuff to the rest of the world. 'We have a really strong interest in preservation of that system.' He said financial markets might be able to ensure economic discipline by Mr Trump — pointing to the administration's reaction to surging interest rates on US debt. 'If we get anything like President Trump has proposed, it's going to be a disaster.' The reporter travelled to the AEP Conference as a guest of the lobby group
